弘明集 6.10

6.10

You say that they tie down shadows and chase the wind, with no one knowing the clue. Now, false eloquence confusing the genuine is what the Great Sage grieved over; lamenting that the times did not recognize jade was why Bian He wept bitterly. However, the wondrous purport is subtle and serene, and only the Dao can embody it; it is empty, serene, simple, and direct, and only virtue can tally with it. Its function is far-reaching: it can serve as a bridge for the fallen and drowning, extricate those in darkness, save those who are obstructed, finely rescue the contemporary age, and its transformation flows without bounds. Therefore, when its spiritual brilliance once radiates, it stirs the great chiliocosm; when its moistening benevolence is momentarily sprinkled, the nine provinces receive moisture. Thus Indra and Brahmā awakened to its subtle purport and turned their sincere devotion to it; emperors and kings looked up to the profound doctrine and pledged their allegiance; the eight classes of beings partook of the spiritual transformation and purified their minds; scholars and commoners gazed upon its true demeanor and rushed forward. Eminent and loftily detached, it is indeed not the nominal teaching within the realm; solemn and reverent, it is truly the unseen track beyond this world. Yet its surrounding walls are steep and sheer, so that few find its gate; its inner chambers are profound and secluded, so that rare are those who enter its halls. Thus, though the Dao rescues everything across the vast expanse, your principles conflict with it; though virtue embraces the boundless, your deeds are separated from it. That you, sir, cling to delusion and finish your life in it, never awakening until your teeth fall out, truly has its reason. Now, when the sun and moon shine gloriously in the sky, the blind do not behold their brilliance; when thunder and lightning shake the earth, the deaf do not hear their sound. Whose fault is this? Yet you are now about to debate the notes of gong and shang while despising the beauty of literature—truly this is the height of error! Formerly, the Wenlin fish changed its sight at the first dawning of light, and Subhadra opened his hearing at the final condition. What sin have you committed, what misfortune is yours, that you alone harbor doubts to the end of your years? Compared to what ordinary men lament, this is foremost among what is most lamentable! Thereupon, [the questioner] hesitated, withdrew from his mat, and despondently lost his composure. After a long while, he said: 'I have heard the explanation of the Great Dao: it spans antiquity and the present, broadly establishing causes and conditions, exhausting principle and fulfilling nature, standing firm in non-action; propagating the Dao in the present age does not expect results within a single lifetime. It can be said to trace beginnings and meet ends, ultimately returning to destiny. I was truly stranded in slumber through the long night, failing to comprehend its purport, and therefore always fashioned boundaries. Now, having had the fortune to hear your leftover discourse, the knots are untied, doubts are dispersed, and I am wide awake as if parting the layered clouds to behold the bright sun, or removing a blindfold to awaken to true wisdom. I am truly undiscerning, and respectfully accept your fine instruction.'